Central Bucks Middle Schooler Develops Skills For Amazon Alexa

WARRINGTON, PA — A seventh grader at Central Bucks School District has put her coding skills to the test to develop several voice skills for Amazon's Alexa.

In her most recent display of technological prowess, Tamanend Middle School student Alaina Ahuja created a voice prompt that students and faculty can use with their Alexa, Amazon's virtual assistant AI technology, the district announced Thursday on its Facebook page.

Once downloaded, Alexa users can simply state, "Alexa, open Central Bucks" to hear a list of day's events on the calendar.

The feature is available for the district's main website calendar and Barclay, Bridge Valley, Buckingham, Titus and Jamison elementary schools; Tamanend and Unai middle schools, and Central Bucks High School South. Simply state, "Alexa, ask Central Bucks about Titus," to hear upcoming events at Titus Elementary School.

The skill is available for download in the Amazon Alexa store.

In addition to her recent project, Ahuja also claims to have developed a lost and found app for her elementary school in New Jersey, and she's currently working on a device that can be attached to a smoke alarm to detect false alarms.

In her family home, the houses and doors are activated by Alexa, her father, Yogi Ahuja, said.

"I started coding at the age of six and remember doing goofy programs on MIT Scratch," Alaina Ahuja writes on her website. "From making micro API’s at home to collaborating with Amazon for the recently finished Alexa skill, I’ve done things I would never have dreamed of doing and it all helped me grow in experience."